In order to further expand the geography of flights
from Lithuania, for the fifth time Lithuanian Airports is inviting airlines to
fly passengers from Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga airports to new destinations
considered to be of particular importance for the growth of the country’s
economy, promotion of inbound tourism and enhancement of international business
relations. Airlines that will offer such routes will be granted financial
support of EUR 200 000 from the Route Development Fund. Airlines are invited to
submit their applications by 27th October of this year.

According to CEO of Lithuanian Airports Gediminas Almantas, state
support for new flight destinations improves connection to cities of the world
that are important for our country, thus not only opening up new opportunities
for tourists and entrepreneurs, but also giving an impetus for economic growth.

“The list of desirable routes subject to support was drawn up taking
into consideration new flight destinations, the creation of which, or the
existing destinations, the increase of the frequency of which, is most
necessary at this time. This is the initial list of proposed destinations with
the already formed passenger flows or growing demand. Should airlines offer new
destinations that are not on the list, they would also be granted support” -
said G. Almantas.

The published call for applications invites airlines to hold flights
from Vilnius airport to Tokyo, Lisbon, Cairo, Almaty, Krakow, Tbilisi, Astana,
Prague, Athens, Sharjah, New York and other metropolitan cities. A wide
spectrum of destinations proposed from Kaunas airports includes Thessaloniki,
Warsaw, Zadar, Minsk, Frankfurt, New York, Beijing, Moscow, Stuttgart, Oslo,
Chicago and others. Airlines, which will offer flights from Palanga to Billund,
Dublin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg or Helsinki airports, will also receive support.

Support will be granted not only to carriers which are to fly in new
destinations, but also to those, which will hold additional flights to the already
existing destinations. The plan is to have additional flights from Vilnius
airport to Barcelona, ​​Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Moscow, Paris, Rome, St.
Petersburg, Brussels, Tel Aviv, London, Vienna, Madrid, Berlin and Milan.

“Three years is the longest period of time for the provision of support
to a single air carrier, with the value thereof not exceeding EUR 200 000.
Granting larger amounts in support to airlines is impossible due to the
limitations established by laws. Air carriers will be able to use the allocated
support to cover expenses for setting up in the airport, advertising and
marketing the new destination. Granting a larger support or support with more vivid
effect to airlines is strictly limited by European Union regulation” - said G.
Almantas having emphasized that support for the said new destinations will be
provided if several established conditions are met.

Flights to the new destination will have to be held at least twice per
week and launched no later than on the 31st of May 2018. The sale of
tickets for these destinations must be started no later than on the 6th
of November, and the destination cannot be held for less than 3 months from the
first flight.

“Even though this year the
process of attracting new routes slowed down due to the reconstruction of the
runway of Vilnius airport, we are continuously engaged in active cooperation
and work with airlines. Passenger flows growing in Lithuania faster than in the
entire aviation market is a very motivating factor for airlines to enter our
market, and thus we expect to hear great news from them in the nearest future”
- said G. Almantas convincingly, also noting that Vilnius airport will offer a
few more flight destinations as soon as in the fall and winter of this year.

The geography of flights from Lithuanian airports expanded this year -
airplanes started flying to Grenoble, Gothenburg, Munich from Vilnius airport,
also returning flights going from here to St. Petersburg and Paris Charles de
Gaulle airport; flights from Kaunas to Naples and from Palanga - to Glasgow and
St. Petersburg were launched.

In September, more flights going from Vilnius to Warsaw will be held,
with “Wizz Air”
airlines launching flights going to this destination, while “Ryanair” will
start flying toNuremberg and Cologne from the
airport of the capital city as from this winter season.

About Lithuanian Airports

Three air gates in Vilnius,
Kaunas and Palanga belong to the network of Lithuanian Airports. In 2016, they
served 4.8 million passengers and 52 000 flights. During the summer season, 17
airlines fly from Lithuanian Airports in 69 directions to 59 cities in 26
European countries. According to the data of the Airports Council International
(ACI Europe), Lithuanian Airports contribute about 2.5 percent to Lithuania’s
GDP.